Monday, April 04, 2011

OK, So You Voted For Obama 2 1/2 Years Ago...

What possible reason could you have to vote for him again at the end of next year? Let's look at his not-so-impressive string of accomplishments, shall we?

The very first executive order he signed (to much fanfare) was an order to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay within one year. Here we are two-plus years later, and there's no closure in sight.

This is good, because all those terrorists that Obama wanted tried in our civilian courts--including KSM, the Ron Jeremy-look-alike who was the reputed mastermind of 9/11--will now be tried by military tribunals, just as they were planned to under President Bush. And those tribunals will be held at Guantanamo Bay.

The stimulus/porkulus bill, the one that cost the nation 3/4 of a trillion dollars and was supposed to prevent an economic catastrophe and keep unemployment under 8%--well, unemployment peaked over 10%, is still over 8%, and underemployment is reportedly about 20%. And the economy still sucks, only now it sucks with $750 billion dollars more debt.

Remember those soaring words that there's no red America, no blue America, just the United States of America? No other president has so derided and attacked his political opponents (sit in the back seat, sipping Slurpees, don't talk too much) as much as this one has.

Remember how high gas prices got while Bush was president? You blamed him for them. They've now doubled since the day Obama was inaugurated.

What about those cowboy wars? No one reasonable objected to Afghanistan, but plenty of people complained about "going it alone" after a "rush to war" in a "Muslim country" that had "oil". There would be no more Iraqs! We at least knew the mission there--depose Saddam Hussein, and introduce a democratic government in Iraq. It was stated at the outset. There were plenty of setbacks along the way, but we succeeded. What's the mission in Libya? To "prevent" an atrocity? To depose Gaddafi? To impose a no-fly zone? How's that coalition, which was only half the size of the Iraq coalition, holding together? What's our "exit strategy"? Did it take 18 months for Obama to decide to bomb Libya? Is Libya a Muslim country? Does it have oil? How about popping targets inside our ally Pakistan--do the anti-war supporters like that?

Gotta love that "smart diplomacy", no? Remember the great "Apology Tour"? How about sucking up to our enemies and crapping on our friends? How cool must Queen Elizabeth have thought he was, when he gave her an iPod loaded with his speeches?! Shipping a bust of Winston Churchill, which had been a gift from Britain, back to Britain? Giving the British Prime Minister a gift of DVD's with the wrong region code, so they couldn't be played in a British DVD player? How about the improperly worded "reset" button with the Russians? Yeah, that diplomacy's been smart.

His "signature" legislative accomplishment was one he turned over to the Congress, and his only contribution was his signature. Yes, I'm talking about the health care reform bill, the one that continues to drop in popularity and was the single biggest contributing factor to the Democratic Party's historic rout in the 2010 election.

How many times in our nation's history have we not had a federal budget? We still don't have one for this fiscal year, and the year is over half way done. Oh, but the Republicans are causing trouble, you say. Well, the Democrats held both houses of Congress and the White House for the first few months of this fiscal year and for all of the last fiscal year (when this year's budget should have been decided).

This president is a failure as a leader. He can't lead his party, he can't lead this nation, and he can't lead the free world. He's a failure as a president. He's a disgrace to this country.

It took a Carter to deliver Reagan to us. I can only hope that the Republican Party can choose a candidate we can vote for instead of just an "I'm not Obama"--because "I'm not Bush" was enough to give us the current buffoon. And to top it all off, he's flip-flopped and is carrying out many of President Bush's policies now, but only when he's forced to by reality.

He's unfit for office, even after 2-plus years.

So you know what? I'm not even going to post "Bush was a so-and-so" comments. This post isn't about Bush or McCain. If you're a leftie and want to challenge me on this post, tell me what you think Obama's done right--defend him and his actions. You want to attack Republicans, go post that kind of crap over in the leftie echo chamber blogs where you don't have to back up what you say. I've stated categorically why this president is a failure and a buffoon. Go ahead, defend him. I defy you.

32 comments:

Sally said...

LOVE this post. Succinct and wish it would get linked by Instapundit because its THAT good.

Mr. W said...

couldn't have said it any better.

And I will go one further than Sally, not only do I love this post (and will re-post it), but this might be your best post ever.

Mike Thiac said...

Darren

Don't hold back, let us know what you think, come on, let it off you're chest man! ;)

As I said, if America had only listened to the (I can't believe I'm using this word in any connection with this man) wisdom of Joe Biden, "The Oval Office is no place for on the job training."

Darren said...

It was a pretty good rant, but nowhere near my best post.

But it did feel good to get all that off my chest.

socalmike said...

Obama is doing great because....well...he is a....er.....wait, I'll think of it....he....uh......er....oh, never mind.

MM Good! said...

2009-A
Passing stimulus, generating jobs. On February 17, 2009, Obama signed the $787 billion stimulus bill into law. In December 2009, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office issued a report estimating that "in the third quarter of calendar year 2009, an additional 600,000 to 1.6 million people were employed in the United States" due to that legislation. According to the White House Council of Economic Advisers, CBO has increased its estimate to 800,000 to 2.4 million additional employed through the fourth quarter of that year. Moreover, a November 20, 2009, New York Times article reported that the "consensus" among "dispassionate analysts" is that "the stimulus package, messy as it is, is working," citing nonpartisan analyses of gross domestic product and total employment figures by several companies specializing in economic forecasting. Further, a January 25 USA Today article stated that, according to its "quarterly survey of 50 economists," "[u]nemployment would have hit 10.8% -- higher than December's 10% rate -- without Obama's $787 billion stimulus program," adding, "The difference would translate into another 1.2 million lost jobs."

Eliminating wasteful spending. Obama was able to achieve some significant cuts to wasteful spending -- most notably, the elimination of the F-22 fighter jet program after he successfully lobbied the Senate to vote to strip out financing for more jets from a defense funding authorization bill. The Washington Times reported on January 14 that Obama won "60 percent of his proposed cuts" and also managed "to get Congress to ax several programs that had bedeviled President George W. Bush for years."

Sotomayor nomination. On May 26, 2009, Obama nominated Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court to replace the retiring Justice David Souter. She was confirmed by the Senate on August 6, 2009, and sworn in August 8, making her the first Hispanic justice, and only the third woman, on the court.

Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. The first bill President Obama signed into law, on January 29, 2009, was the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which expands the rights of workers to sue employers over wage discrimination claims.

MM Good! said...

2009-B
SCHIP expansion. On February 5, 2009, Obama signed a bill expanding the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) to cover 4 million more lower-income children.

Public lands bill. On March 30, Obama signed an omnibus public lands bill, which The New York Times reported "allows for 2 million more acres to be declared wilderness... [with] more than 1,000 miles designated as scenic rivers, and adds land for national trails."

Credit card reform. On May 21, 2009, Obama signed into law a bill providing what USA Today called the "most sweeping changes to the credit card industry in 40 years," adding restrictions on interest rate increases and fees and restricting the marketing of credit cards to college students.

Transparency. The Washington Post reported that moves by the Obama administration to improve government transparency "included a ban on lobbyist gifts; restrictions on the hiring of lobbyists; publication of White House visitor logs and other records; and a move to bar lobbyists from serving on advisory boards." A report by Common Cause, Democracy 21, the League of Women Voters, and U.S. PIRG stated that: "The cumulative effect of the Administration's actions has been to adopt the strongest and most comprehensive lobbying, ethics and transparency rules and policies ever established by an Administration to govern its own activities."

Tobacco regulation. On June 22, 2009, Obama signed the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, which, for the first time, gave the U.S. Food & Drug Administration the authority to regulate the manufacturing, marketing, and sale of tobacco.

National service. On April 21, 2009, Obama signed the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, which expands the scope of AmeriCorps and provides opportunities for young people and senior citizens to join in service programs.

Stem cell research. On May 9, 2009, Obama signed an executive order easing restrictions on the use of federal money for embryonic stem cell research.

MM Good! said...

2010-B
7. Improper Payments. President Obama signed the Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Act, which is purposed to prevent such payments sent by the government to the wrong person or for the wrong reasons or in the wrong amounts. President Obama also established a goal for his administration to reduce improper payments by $50 billion by 2012.
8. Iraq. One of the primary messages of his presidential campaign was the withdrawal of combat troops out of Iraq. President Obama and his National Defense personnel were able to implement this promise, as more than 90,000 combat troops were withdrawn out of Iraq by August 31, 2010.
9. Wall Street Reform. President Obama signed the historic Wall Street Reform Bill, which was established to put an end to taxpayer-funded bailouts, create a new watchdog agency within the Federal Reserve to protect consumers in financial transactions, give the government more power to break up failing companies and create greater congressional oversight over the central bank.
10. HIRE Act. President Obama signed the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act, which included $17.5 billion in tax cuts, business credits and subsidies for state and local construction bonds, and moved $20 billion into the highway trust fund for spending on highway and transit programs. The bill also exempts businesses that hire unemployed workers from paying the payroll security tax through December of 2010.
11. HBCU Funding. President Obama signed the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), which will include a $98 million funding increase for HBCUs. This Executive Order will also provide funding for the repair, renovation, and construction or acquisition of educational facilities, instructional equipment, research instrumentation, and physical infrastructure.
12. Appointment of Justice Elena Kagen. In addition to appointing Sonia Sotomayor as the first Hispanic to the Supreme Court in 2009, President Obama similarly appointed former Solicitor General Elena Kagen in 2010.

allen (in Michigan) said...

My guess is that "Hope and Change" aren't going to be the theme of the campaign.

Darren said...

Wow, MMM MMM MMM Barack Hussein Obama (I trust you all remember that video) has truly been drinking the Kool-Aid. Transparency? In this administration? You've *got* to be kidding. And jobs "saved or created"? No one except the faithful believes those, MMM.

I assume you had to look a bunch (most?) of that up. You couldn't come up with anything on your own? He must really be impressing you.

I'll not attack your points one by one because, in addition to taking way too much time, would only serve to validate them in the first place. Thank you for contributing, though.

MM Good! said...

You can be dismissive to your heart's content.

I don't expect the facts of the matter will convince anyone of your ilk to vote for Obama. Still, he managed to get elected without your support once, and I think he'll be able to do it again.

So far, I like the parade of GOP candidates in waiting; I think Obama does, too. See you in January 2013!

scott mccall said...

im not sure about the gas price part.....prices here in AZ are only about 30-40 cents more than they were in 2008........i wouldnt call that "double"

even in california, if gas prices were "doubled", then that means it would be about $9-10 per gallon...which it's not

mmazenko said...

D., your dismissal of MM's detailed and salient reasons for supporting Obama is beneath you. He offered specific legislation and ideas about government's role. "Drinking the Kool-aid" implies mindless and unreasonable acceptance. Citing specific legislation - even if he looked up the details - is not mindless. You two simply disagree on the role of government, and his response did not warrant such a glib response. I would argue you have no effective rebuttal of his points and in failing to acknowledge even one, you do validate them.

PeggyU said...

Jon Stewart's response to Obama's new campaign video looks at his transparency record.

Anonymous said...

I didn't vote for Obama in 2008, and I won't be voting for him in 2012, but I can make a case for voting for him.

The basic idea is that the last time the Republicans ran both congress and the White House, spending and deficits went up. The last time that Republicans ran congress, but a democrat ran the White House, the two couldn't agree on how to loot the treasury and the budget was much more under control.

So ... one reason to vote for Obama in 2012 is that you expect the Republicans to control congress, but don't trust them to run the whole show.

Yes, foreign policy may well be a disaster, but the upshot of this is mostly more dead/oppressed foreign people. Maybe not our concern, compared with our government going bankrupt.

How about that?

-Mark Roulo

Darren said...

Mazenko, if you have to look up what he's done in order to argue about what a great president he is, I question whether that person's commitment is based on the president's so-called accomplishments or on "faith".

mmazenko said...

D., as an educator, you should know that is a rather naive judgment of an individual's response to your request to defend Obama. It's about policies - thus, while an average person may/may not support the stimulus bill, it's not unreasonable to look up the facts to support the claim. Other writers do so in your comments section all the time, and you don't dismiss their "research."

While some of my students' essays are written in class with no resources - because I want to confirm their core knowledge and ideas - other papers/arguments are researched. And a majority of your postings are "references" to facts/opinions/news you have found elsewhere and cut/pasted into your blog. Your flippant derision seems like a double-standard, and your commentary is usually better than that.

The decision to support Obama may be focused on simple policy positions. For example, if someone doesn't believe that marginal rates for the top tier should drop from 35 to 25%, he wouldn't support a candidate who would sign that. The same goes for someone who prefers more regulation of banks and more consumer protections, rather than less. If a voter doesn't believe a "voucher" will secure him health care when he retires, he wouldn't choose a president who would sign that into law.

Personally, I haven't decided on my vote for 2012, and I didn't make my decision in 2008 until the day I cast my ballot. But while I have criticisms of Obama, similar to you not approving of many acts by President Bush, I have as many reservations about positions taken by the current GOP field.

I simply don't trust a candidate who rants about the 35% corporate income tax rates, and ignores all the deductions that guarantee no corporation pays that. It's disingenuous. The same goes for all tax rates. I want a lot of federal spending decreased, but I have to decide which candidate is going to cut that spending by taking on tax breaks for energy companies and agribusiness. Will Obama or the GOP give me a better chance to see farm subsidies and corporate welfare weakened? I honestly don't know at this point.

I'm also wary of Ryan's Medicare "vouchers" unless he maintains an ACA provision that insurance companies can't deny me coverage. I like the idea, but I worry Ryan and the GOP seriously overestimate how much they can trust/regulate the insurance industry.

Thus, there is much to think about. And disappointment with Obama won't automatically send people running into the arms of Pawlenty or Bachmann.

Anonymous said...

I think that Obama has done a good job.

Darren said...

I disagree, Mazenko. If a person cannot write a defense of the man from their own knowledge--I'm not saying specifics, but at least list some reasons they support the guy--then they don't know *why* they support the guy. They just support the guy. *That* is ideology, not thought.

I can state clearly why I think he's a lousy president. I may not know exactly how many terrorists there are in Guantanamo Bay, but I know it's still open when he "ordered" it closed. Having some knowledge isn't the same thing as looking things up, despite what the technophiles in teacher credentialing classes would have us believe :-)

mmazenko said...

OK, a last thought and then agree to disagree:

Another writer openly chastised me on this site for my "general" perceptions about Bush and tax cuts, and asked that I speak in facts and research. If MM had simply stated he "thinks the stimulus bill worked" and he likes "credit card reform" and he's "glad we're getting out of Iraq" and he "supports fed funding of stem cell research," I don't think you would be any more accepting of his reasons. And I'm sure he could have made such general statements. Thus, he's in a no-win situation.

Thus, simply because he chose to back up his positions with research (potentially to offset an expected rebuttal), you claim he doesn't really know what he believes. That's unfair. I teach commentary and argument, and my students learn that general comments without support is merely a rant. You're not omniscient, and you have no great insight into what MM truly believes or knew before, simply because he chose to argue and not rant off the top of his head.

Regardless, a third of this country is going to vote for Obama and third will vote against him simply based on ideology/party. The third in the middle will decide based on policies - as well as comparison shopping on what the other side is selling. You gave some valid reasons to oppose Obama, and MM gave some valid reasons to support him.

Overall, I think it was a thought-provoking exchange - that is, minus your derisive comments.

Darren said...

I know why I oppose the president. I'm not convinced our Campbell's Soup guest knows why he/she supports the president, which is why he/she had to look up all the bill's the president's signed and pass them off here as some sort of presidential achievement.

So yes, we clearly disagree. Isn't the first time, won't be the last!

Scott McCall said...

then again, Darren, you can't debate with someone about politics when they're biased about one political party.

additionally, in my experience, i stop listening to a person's point of view as soon as one argument or claim becomes untrue.

Ellen K said...

Congratulations Darren,
It seems that your blog has finally gotten noticed by Moveon.org. Now they are going to try to hijack all further posts and/or hack into the site for their own purposes. Completely funded by George Soros. Oh and for the Campbell kid up there, please, please explain how it is not counterproductive to our economy to ban off shore drilling in the Gulf while simultaneously giving millions to good buddy Soros to drill off shore of Brazil so that he can sell it back to us at inflated prices? Please explain why GE isn't paying taxes and it's former CEO and chief media cheerleader Immelt is now part of the administration. Please explain why we still have absolutely no real information as to Obama's college years despite the fact that every other leader has openly touted their academic background. Please explain why nobody in his class remembers him AT ALL. Please explain why Clintonistas were silenced during the 2008 primaries and why the media typecast the candidates like a bad reality show. On second thought, never mind, anyone with that much KoolAid in their system has got to be rotten from the inside out.

Darren said...

Ellen, I expect that kind of behavior from lefties--you know, with their commitment to free speech and all....

allen (in Michigan) said...

That list of Obama accomplishments above? http://mediamatters.org/research/201001270003

Oddly enough I didn't see Afghanistan, Guantanamo Bay, rescissions, the Second Amendment or caving on the Bush tax cuts among Obama's accomplishments.

Someone ought let mediamatters, and the Campbell soup jingle know about those oversights.

Darren said...

http://wizbangblog.com/content/2011/03/26/i-dont-care-obama-is-awesome.php

Darren said...

Oh, here's my source for the "gas has doubled" remark, Instapundit linking to Gasbuddy:
http://pajamasmedia.com/instapundit/117766/

Darren said...

I've been saying this for weeks:
http://washingtonexaminer.com/politics/white-house/2011/04/obama-embraces-policies-he-opposed-candidate

Scott McCall said...

darren, when i moved to arizona in 2007, gas was approaching $5 in CA, and was $3 in AZ. today, gas prices in CA are still around $4-$5 and in AZ it's $3.30. During one of my shows (when i worked for an audio company) in san francisco, gas in san fran was $6.50/gal. today.....it's still around $5/gal.

i dont know where that source got that information, but it's not correct. gas prices in 2008 were DEFINITELY not under $2. I remember this distinctly because I had to drive across CA and AZ in a gas guzzler before the 2008 elections. We had high gas prices at the end of Bush's term, and it's been that way ever since. If gas prices have truly "doubled" in the past 3 years, CA would be looking at $10/gal right now.

Darren said...

The high price peaked over $4/gallon, but then dropped. Gas was pretty low on Jan 21st, 2009.

Scott McCall said...

Ya, the only reason it dropped was cause of the recession. Now it's returning to pre-recession prices.

Every time one thing goes wrong, everyone jumps to blaming the president. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of other people involved with decision making around the world, but people always blame the president, and only the president.

I may not be a fan of him either, but I don't blame the president for my burnt toast in the morning.

Mike Thiac said...

Remember Darren....green energy...we don't need oil...although Brazil can develop their oil with money from US borrowed from thr Chinese and then sell it to us...

God the end of this reign of error can't come soon enough....